A warmer-than-normal November has left the ground warm, and temperatures on Thanksgiving are not expected to dip below freezing, both factors that would prevent accumulation, Skilling said.

Significant snow on Thanksgiving is relatively rare in Chicago. Dating back to 1884 the city has logged only 11 Thanksgivings with more than an inch of snow accumulation.

The time around Thanksgiving can be a "turbulent period" for weather around the country, as cold air gets stronger and there are increasingly greater temperature north-south temperature differentials, Skilling said.

"It can be a tricky traveling day," he said, "but it doesn't appear that it will be anything terrible."